Sue says… I was wondering why wearing nail polish turns my nails yellow? Also, is there anything we can do to prevent that?
The Right Brain’s polished response:
It’s true, nail polish can turn your nails yellow. Why? There are a couple of reasons:
Color reaction
Some of the darker colored polishes can stain nails due to a chemical reaction between the colorant and the nail plate. This reaction is hard to predict because it doesn’t happen for everybody for every dark color. It can also take a few days to a few weeks to occur.
Formaldehyde
It’s also possible that formaldehyde (one of the ingredients in many nail polishes) is causing the problem. This chemical can react with the keratin protein in your nails and make it brittle and yellow.
Medical issues
Finally, if your nails are really yellowed and disfigured, you may have a nail infection or a more serious medical condition known as Yellow Nail Syndrome.
So what can you do about it? Read on!
Tips for non-yellowing nails:
- Don’t try to scrape off the stained area because it will damage and weaken the nail.
- Stay away from dark colors (which will greatly reduce your fashion options)
- Wear a base coat to protect your nails from staining (this makes sense to us)
- Look for nail polishes that don’t have formaldehyde on the ingredient list. (There’s no guarantee that this will work but hey, it beats this next tip we found from one of the nail polish companies from which is…
- Wear gloves (now there’s a practical idea!)
- Stop wearing polish and wait for your nails to grow out. (Also not too practical, this could take 4 to 6 months.)
- Soak your nails in 1/2 cup of water and juice of one lemon for up to 15 minutes, once a week, according to Sally Hanson. (We’re skeptical if this works but you can always add some sugar and just drink it as lemonade.)
- Buy only yellow shades of polish so you can’t tell if your nails are stained or not. (Sorry, just kidding on that one.)
The Beauty Brains bottom Line:
Nail polish can stain your nails yellow but by choosing the right shades, using a protective base coat, and drinking a lot of lemonade while wearing gloves, you should be able to control the problem.
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I have read that nitrocellulose causes the nails to turn yellow. This was also mentioned by Joanne the science goddess in her video on quick drying nail polish.
This is a great post! I love the answers.
I lay off the polish at least a couple days a week, and that has helped a lot.
Eating right has caused my nails to become strong and grow beautifully, so much of the time I can get away with no polish, and just nicely shaped nails.
Have a great day!
Susanna
Its not just dark colored polishes that can stain your nails. For me, it is light yellow-green polishes. Any time I wear a polish in that color family it stains my nails yellow-orange! You gave good suggestions, but lightly buffing the stained area can remove the stain and as long as you don’t buff too hard or too often or have thin nails it shouldn’t do much damage.
Not all clients are prone to the orangey/yellowy staining when wearing polish.
Sorry, but base coat will not prevent it from happening. It definitely seeps through the base. My daughter wears two base coats before her polish, Essie Munis Mauve, and her nails have the perpetual orange stain.
You CAN lightly buff.
The BEST product that removes this is Cuticle Eliminator. I believe Sally’s sells this at their stores.
You can apply a VERY small amount of this product on the nails and leave it on for about three minutes. Wipe with a cotton pad or gauze. Then you can lightly buff the nails. LIGHTLY. Did I say LIGHTLY?!!! Make sure to rinse your nails with water–wash your hands immediately after using this product and buffing.
This is not just with natural nails. You will see staining with liquid and powder AND gels on some clients.
Do not confuse this with the yellowing one gets from the liquid acrylic, MMA, that the chop shops use on their clients. That ALWAYS turns yellow after about four weeks. It is NOT the polish turning the nails; it is the MMA.
buenos dias,
Lynnette
Yet another reason to just not wear polish.
Applying a base coat will definitely help the nail performance and also cover it from the nail polish…It will make it stronger too…and shines it
yo chick nail polish is amazing dont dis the polish! i love it even if it makes my nails yellow!
Because it’s yellow nail polish?!
i love polishing my nails.,,i change polish every time i wanted to, but i didnt noticed that my nails to yellow. actually i dont use acetone i only scrape it and it really weakens my nails but still i love it.
i love my long nails.
Even sallys clear makes my nails look like I have ben eating cheese doodles I finaly have some nails and I look like a 6 year old not 64 my real age very frustrating